Serena Williams’ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, shared her candid opinion on Mirra Andreeva’s reckless outburst towards the fans at Indian Wells after her title defense ended abruptly in the third round against Katerina Siniakova on Monday. The Russian player failed to capitalize on her advantage after winning the first set and let the match slip away.
After the match, an angry Andreeva threw her racket into the players’ seating area as the crowd started to boo her for unsportsmanlike behavior and her inability to handle defeat. The teenage star didn’t stop there; on her way off the court, she turned to the crowd and yelled, “F*** you, f*** all of you!” which only worsened their reaction.
Stubbs offered her honest opinion on the entire incident in the latest episode of the Blocked and Reported podcast.
“I think you [Mirra Andreeva] are trying your best here. But the bottom line is, you know, as a player, especially one so young. You are coming back to Indian Wells. You are probably coming back to the same place for the next 10-15 years. You want people to like you, you want them to support,” Stubbs said.
“And as somebody, we do know her, we wish people understand the good side of her and when you yell to crowd on your way out to the door, f*** you, f*** all of you, and trust me when I say this the amount of times when I wanted to say people in the crowd f*** all of you was many times, but it’s like you can’t do that, you have to be more of a professional,” she added.
“At some point, we have to say, you can’t keep saying she is young because Coco Gauff is younger than all of them in a lot of ways in the last five years and hasn’t done something like that… You just have to handle yourself a little bit better,” Stubbs concluded.
Mirra Andreeva Calls Serena Williams An Inspiration in Handling Losses Calmly
During the post-game interview, Andreeva reflected on the situation that transpired on court after the match and hoped she could better handle future losses, taking inspiration from some of the top names in tennis who handle either a win or a loss with calm.
“I was actually thinking about it recently. I think the one person who handled losses very well was Serena Williams. I have never heard or seen her upset. Even when she was losing finals at the Grand Slams, she would always smile and be happy for her opponent who had won the match and gotten the trophy. Maybe it is something that I can also try to learn. We will see how that is going to go,” Andreeva said.
For now, the 18-year-old will shift her focus to the Miami Open, starting March 16, before the players commence their journey through the clay-court swing, culminating with the Roland Garros in June.
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